This month I have been exploring fear, gratitude and sleep. Seemingly unrelated, but align these, and you will achieve an informed, peaceful and rested life.

Fear is a commodity. Marketers use fear to convince you to buy their product, politicians use fear to get your vote and obstetricians use fear to guide your decision making. Fear is what we have in the absence of knowledge, and without knowledge, we must put our trust in those that are more knowledgeable. But is this wise? Does this always led to a good outcome?

How do we raise confident kids? How do we instill resilience and a sense of self-worth? How can we help them grow into Happy adults?It seems at the foundation of all things positive, is Gratitude. This is more than just minding your Ps and Qs...Gratitude is a deep feeling, that opens us up to be more empathic, compassionate and self-assured.

Combining critical thinking and gratitude, we become rather powerful. Powerful in a kind and gentle way, with a love focus. Leaders, not bosses.

And sleep?

Oh sleep! Hand up if you could use some ZZZZs! This month I am sharing another great article from Evolutionary Parenting. This one deals with 'sleep regression'. I love it when someone has put into awesome words thoughts I have had milling around but unable to form. This article brings it all together.

Understanding this will reduce the fear uncertainty, frustration or despair you may be feeling when you are faced with 'regressions' or 'wonder weeks'. With your new found knowledge, you may just uncover deep feelings of gratitude...and drift of into a calm and stressless sleep.

Oh Bliss!

In this newsletter:

StoryTime brings you a reading of on of my childhood favourites recently rediscovered with my children. "There's a Sea in my Bedroom!". A story of overcoming fear, using visualisation.

31 Benefits of Gratitude

The Beast of Fear and Fear for Sale!

Sleep Regressions

archives: the nocebo effect

STORY TIMEThere's a Sea in My Bedroom

The Nocebo EffectAn article I wrote addressing the impact of fear in pregnancy and birth.

You will no longer find me on Facebook. However, my page still exists. This should have been deleted when I deleted my profile, but my old profile still exists in a kind of stasis. Facebook will not let me access it and I have no idea how to contact them about it. This means messages sent to my page are not going to be responded to. You can still mention the page, like, share and comment on any content, but no new content will be added. It all feels a little 'Hotel California': "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave".

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Catherine is a member of the Doula Network Australia

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